Students join walk through forest in Doi Suthep

Many students on Sunday took part in a walk organised by the Royal Forest Department and green networks through a forest at the foot of Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep Mountain.

“We organise such activities in order to inculcate a love for nature in children,” department official Jiraporn Meewassana said, as she guided dozens of students to examine various plants and collect fallen seeds along the way.

The spot is near the controversial site where construction of court officials’ residences is still ongoing. The structures, however, will be left unused as it has already been agreed that the Court of Appeals Region 5 will get another location to construct residences for its officials.

The agreement was reached early this month following protests by environmentalists and local people.

They were unhappy that the structures, whose constructions are almost complete, have apparently eaten into green zones.

The Network to Reclaim Doi Suthep Forest, which played a key role in the protests against the structures, joined Sunday’s activities.